Multi-instrumentalist and singer Greg Jacobs was signed on by PizzaExpress UAE in Dubai's JLT community this season, so I invited a couple of friends to check out his Saturday night gig there. He was jamming with three other musicians, playing the piano during much of the first set, and the saxophone during much of the second.
While he was great with the sax, Jacobs was also a pretty good singer, and performed a pleasant and entertaining mix of classic jazz songs and modern hits. There were also a few good solos by him and the other musicians, who did well working together onstage.
The first season of the SocialCiti short play event ambitiously titled "Battle of the Best" ended today after an elimination round the previous day. I came in with somewhat low expectations, having attended the teaser in early July; it included a number of rough-around-the-edges and downright awkward plays that sullied the event.
I guess some of them had been dropped before and during the elimination round, making for what turned out to be a fairly enjoyable final show. The remaining plays were entertaining and generally well-executed, but for the frequent use of mood lighting effects and melodramatic music cues, which I found to be somewhat distracting and obstructive to the suspension of disbelief.
Ek Mulakat
Among the English language plays, I really liked the first one, Finger Food. It was cleverly written and appropriately cast. I also liked The Postman for the writing and the theme. Ultimately, though, I ended up voting for the one-scene Ek Mulakat, a play in a language I could only partially understand, primarily based on the acting and the implied drama.
September's multi-sub-genre rock music event, named "Dark East Mania" by organizers Charged ME's fans, started early in the night, featuring 11 locally-based acts back-to-back all the way to lights up at The Music Room.
Alt rock band Drasbor put in one of the more memorable performances of the night, with strong vocals and good percussion.
Metal fans had much to mosh over, with 4 metal bands playing that night. The first, Coat of Arms, was a great kick-off, their vocalists' preppy look belying a powerful metal voice.
After Benevolent and Voice of the Soul continued the metal lineup, split down the middle by hard rock band Point of View, Ascendant ended it with a very well-received performance.
Cafe Sci Dubai's fifth event took place at the usual Lila Cafe on Friday, delving this time into a number of topics with one thing in common: mystery. The founders began with their introductions: Rohan Roberts sinking into black holes, dark matter, abiogenesis and whale beachings, and Raya Bidshahri pondering beauty and consciousness as evolutionary and neurological phenomena. Two videos were screened around the open discussion/meet-and-greet period: one about multiverse theory and extraterrestrials, and the other about black holes.
Following these, a moderated discussion was held about time dilation, stereoscopic vision, and whatever else attendees could come up with. Yes, a few of these could be looked up on the web in great detail, but many attendees' perspectives were rather insightful. Further fun was had during the post-event wind-down, when we played a little game I improvised by applying the game of charades to scientific terms instead of films and such.
A supporter of jazz in the city for many seasons now, The Ivy at Jumeirah Emirates Towers features British singer Rachael Calladine and Bulgarian composer-pianist Stoyan Stoyanov - both Dubai-based artists - on Thursdays this season.
Calladine's reportoire of jazz and soul reinterpretations of popular music was complemented well by Stoyanov's fleet-fingered phrasing, the latter especially evident in his improvised bridges. To mark Michael Jackson's posthumous birthday (which happened to be on that day), they performed several of his songs as well.
Oh, and one must definitely try the duck fat chips here. They are to die for.
During their residencies at thejamjar this summer, Talin Hazber and Alina Gallo have been producing art incorporating the local physical and cultural environment, and running workshops on working with their respective media. Today, the jamjar exhibited the fruits of the residencies, along with making-of videos and slideshows.
Gallo's murals were, unfortunately, not on display, but her very interesting miniature paintings of egg tempera on wood were. They included many details in local settings, seen from a cutaway bird's eye view that rendered elements from different locations in space and time visible in a single panoramic scene.
Given the sandy landscape of much of the UAE, this country would have been a vast, grainy buffet for Hazber acquiring the raw materials for her sand formation art. Some of the mystery of how these were made was lost in the sand formation workshop in which I participated, but seeing how those techniques are extended and applied by an experienced artist was still impressive.
My workshop piece was also on display with its bi-color altitude gradient intact (thankfully). Looks like the glue held up.
Our China interest group on Meetup.com, Dubai China Night, held its monthly dinner at Homey once again. It was my first time attending, and it was nice to make new acquaintances with the members who also attended.
I had been there once before, and was pleased to note that a lot of people shared my fondness for the red rice shrimp rolls.
I also gave the soft tofu and century egg starter a go, mainly considering that it had century egg in it. It was steeped in chili oil, which really went well with the cold soft tofu, and imparted an amazing and novel flavor to the diced century egg.
It was nice to see how many other people in Dubai are interested in Chinese culture and/or had been to China and/or could speak Chinese. I look forward to attending another one when I get the chance.
